Stargate SGX
by bugly42
Summary: Stargate SG1Xmen Tagline: The laws of Physics need not apply. A new team comes to the mountain.
1. The Devil You Know

Stargate SG-X

Tagline: The laws of physics need not apply.

Disclaimer: The characters used are property of their respective owners. I do not claim any rights to them. This is just for fun, and no profit is made.

Part One: The Devil You Know

Four people sat together in the back of a military transport, listening to the sounds of the passing road outside. Based on outward appearance, three of them were human, two men and one woman, and the fourth was most obviously not. One of the men, a muscular twenty-something, had his arm around the woman, helping to brace her against the shocks. The other man, older, more grizzled-looking, sat there cracking his knuckles.

The fourth person was the true oddity. To start off, he was covered in blue fur, with only three fingers on each hand. He didn't sit as the others did, but rather crouched, a long, pointed tail extended, twitching every so often, as if by reflex. The creature's appearance would have been downright demonic, if not for the expression of serenity on his face. One hand held onto a support pillar, under the canvas covering that shielded the four from view, either on the ground, or by satellites, the other was thumbing the beads on a rosary, as his lips twitched in silent prayer.

"What do you think they want us for?" the woman asked.

"Security," the older man growled. "Probably cleaning up somebody else's manure. Farmboy over there should be good at that."

"Logan," the woman warned.

He held up his hands, a mocking surrender. The other man shifted slightly, adjusting his position. "It is no shame to be good at one's work, Katya," he said, looking down at her.

"I just think we should act like a team," she said. "Show a united front."

She closed her eyes, leaning into the man beside her. "I just wish I knew why we were here."

General George Hammond was sitting behind his desk as the intercom on his desk phone activated.

"Sir, the party you were expecting is upstairs at the security checkpoint," came the voice of Sergeant Walter Harriman.

"By all means, send them down," Hammond replied.

"Sir, you don't understand. They're being held by security."

"Why in God's name are they doing that?"

"It appears that one of them set off the metal detectors, and is refusing to cooperate with further investigation of his person."

"Tell them I'll be right up," the general said, raising himself from his chair with a weary sigh. "Hammond out."

Upstairs at the security checkpoint, things were rapidly getting out of hand as Logan's temper turned from heated to scalding. "I am not carrying any explosives," he growled at the SF who was looking at the detecting wand with puzzlement.

Kitty and Peter were watching from inside the checkpoint, trying to hide their amusement at the situation, while the fourth member of the group, who now resembled a young Cary Grant, leaned nonchalantly against a wall.

Suddenly, a ripple of movement as all the soldiers went to attention announced the arrival of a senior officer. The man arriving had salt-and-pepper hair and the self-confident, almost careless walk of someone who had seen trouble and lived to tell the tale more times than he could talk about in a year.

"Ok, boys, you've had your fun, but babysitting's over," the officer, a full bird colonel by his uniform, announced. "I'm here to escort this group downstairs."

The guard with the handheld metal detector was about to protest, but the officer raised a finger and made a noise that could only be transcribed as "Aht." He then turned his attention to the others, giving only a cursory examination, and turned his back to them, heading towards the elevator he had arrived in. "All right, campers, let's go."

Inside the elevator, the officer swiped a card, and punched one of the buttons before they descended into the depths of the mountain. When they exited at another checkpoint, he ran the same interference, getting them past the security without a problem, and hurrying towards a second elevator.

"Sorry about that," he offered. "But the briefing room is located on sublevel 27, and the first shaft only goes down to 11. There shouldn't have been a problem, considering who cleared you."

Logan snorted at that. "His idea of a joke."

"Still, Mister, uh…"

"Logan. Just Logan."

The officer turned to face him, starting to offer his hand automatically. "Colonel Jack O'Neill," he began, then something crossed his face and the hand dropped back to his side. "It's you…"


	2. Of Gates and Gods

A/N: While I'm aware that Pete/Colossus has had his name rendered both as the Russian Piotr and the English Peter, I am going with the English version, to emphasize his status as a naturalized American. Also, a correction to my earlier statement that SG-1 is divergent in season 6. I'm actually going to go AU in s7 because I want Daniel around. 

Part Two: Of Gods and Gates

"It's you…" Jack said, looking at Logan with shock, and a sense of wonder. "Just the same." He shook his head in disbelief.

Logan was taken aback, frowning. "Have we met?" he asked, puzzlement clear on his face.

The elevator doors slid open, and Jack shrugged. "Never mind, we're here," he said, starting down the corridor. A few twists and turns later, he ushered them into a conference room lined with whiteboards, a seal with the letters SGC on it flanked between two flagpoles, one American, the other with a similar design on white to the seal.

Jack gestured at the group to take their seats, then went to knock on the door leading to the general's office. "Sir, we're here," he said, then snapped to attention as the shorter man came out. "General Hammond, I'd like to introduce Miss Katherine "Kitty" Pryde, codename Shadowcat, Mr. Peter Rasputin, codename Colossus, Mr. Kurt Wagner, codename Nightcrawler, and Logan, codename Wolverine of the X-Men," he said, gesturing to each in turn. Kitty arched an eyebrow in an expression of mild surprise, since earlier he'd acted as if he was unaware of their identities.

"Please, make yourselves comfortable," Hammond said, as the team hadn't moved. "Dr. Jackson should be joining us shortly to begin the briefing."

With that reassurance, Kitty, Peter, and Logan took three of the high-backed chairs, while Kurt, looking over the chair carefully, perched on it in his usual crouch.

After settling down into place, Kitty looked at Kurt, and leaned in to hiss, "Kurt, your tail."

Looking chagrinned, the Cary Grant look-alike gave a forced laugh. "Ah, yes," he said, pressing a button on his wristwatch. The holographic image flickered and then disappeared, leaving the blue-furred truth behind. With a shy wave, he grinned, flashing pointed teeth. "Hello."

The momentary surprise on both officer's faces might have led to a less than diplomatic statement, but they were instead interrupted by the entrance of Dr. Jackson. The scholarly-looking man was carrying a stack of folders, as well as several rolled up charts, apparently visual aids prepared to the briefing.

"Sorry I'm late, General, Jack," he said, as he struggled to put the objects down on one end of the table. "So, yes, the history of the Stargate program," he said, absently. "That's the topic, right?" Daniel glanced at the two officers, as if for confirmation, then looked at his audience. His gaze traveled across Logan's rugged appearance, paused briefly with the young couple of Pete and Kitty, a stopped dead on Kurt. "Well, this is certainly different," he said, and paused to polish his glasses, having finally deposited his load.

Hammond began passing out the folders, and gestured for Daniel to begin.

"Right, the Stargate. The gate itself was first uncovered in Giza in 1928 by an expedition lead by Dr. Langford, pictured here," Daniel began, as he unrolled one of the posters and began tacking it up on a wall. "Here with the crew as they first lifted up the device. Now, Major Carter will be here later to cover how the device actually works, but a summary would be that the gate is part of a vast network, any two of which, with the right address, can be connected by a wormhole.

"However, none of this was discovered until much later. In 1997, a group of scientists studying the device and the cover stone it was buried under finally discovered the means to activate the Stargate, and Colonel O'Neill, myself, and a group of soldiers passed through to investigate the other side.

"While there, we encountered a being calling himself Ra, who apparently had transplanted the people living on the planet from ancient Egypt and had been posing as the Sun-god for thousands of years. In fact, Ra was the first representative we met of the parasitical race known as the Goa'uld. These aliens take human beings as hosts, controlling the body and leaving the original person a prisoner in their own mind, able to see what the Goa'uld does, but not act."

A look of disgust crossed Kitty's face, as she recalled her own experience as a prisoner in her own body.

"We have encountered many of these Goa'uld on various planets accessible by the stargate, and because of our success in eliminating several of the more powerful members of their race," Daniel continued.

"They don't like us very much," Jack interjected, raising a nervous laugh from the four X-men.

"Anyways, because of the threat posed by the Goa'uld and their armies, the Stargate program was created to explore the worlds accessible by wormhole for the purpose of gaining advanced technology and allies among the stars."

Kurt, who had been paging through the folder Daniel had brought looked up at him. "These beings, these Goa'uld? They pose as gods?" he asked.

"Yes, that's correct. Now, they aren't the only race of aliens we've encountered that have chosen to take on roles from Earth mythology, but they are the one we most encounter. Another example would be the Asgard, whom we have an alliance with. The Goa'uld are a threat to us, because of our abilities. They prefer to keep their enslaved human populations subservient and primitive, disguising technology as magic or miracles. When the body they inhabit grows too old, or is otherwise rendered uninhabitable, or if a new Goa'uld comes into maturity, they harvest candidates from among these peoples to choose a new host."

Daniel continued in the same vein for what seemed like hours, explaining the culture of the Goa'uld, their servants, the created race of Jaffa that serve as incubators for the larval Goa'uld. He then moved on to explaining that the gates themselves were built by yet another race, and then, finally, he sat down, his portion of the presentation finished.

"So this facility is a gateway to other worlds?" Kitty finally asked. "So why do you need us?"

Hammond seemed startled by the question. "You four were the final selection for a team to operate both independently and as a supporting team to SG-1, led by Colonel O'Neill, here. I was under the impression that you would be told of this assignment at the time you were offered transportation to this facility."

Logan snorted at that. "Like they'd even ask."

"Well, you may, of course, refuse the position," Hammond said. "There is no reason to expect any of you to feel obligated to put your lives at risk for this command. I do believe, however, that you are all uniquely suited to this task."

Kitty looked at the faces of her companions, and chuckled. "Sir, I think I speak for all of us when I say we're staying. It's not like we can turn our backs on planet Earth."

Hammond nodded. "Thank you, Miss Pryde," he said.

Someone knocked on the door, and a moment later, a woman with short blonde hair cut in a carefree style came in, flanked by a huge black man with a strange golden tattoo on his forehead. "I hope we're not interrupting, sir," the woman said, giving the room a quick look.

"No, Major, we were just about to—"

Hammond's statement was cut off by the sound of a chair crashing backwards as Logan sprang to his feet, his claws sliding out with the familiar snickt as he pointed to the black man with one fist.

"Logan!" Kitty cried, desperately.

"He ain't human," Logan snarled.

"How do you know?"

"I can smell it."


	3. Hok'taur

"I can smell it," Logan growled, wrinkling his nose as if whatever he sensed was unpleasant. 

Before anyone else could take action to protect Teal'c from his erstwhile attacker, Peter had placed himself between Logan and the other man as his steely armor spread across his body. At the same time Kitty had also gotten to her feet, putting a hand on Logan's arm, saying, "Logan, please."

A growl trickled from Logan's throat, but he made no further movements against his teammates or Teal'c, allowing his claws to slide back within his arms.

The stony visage of the large black man showed no apparent sign of surprise or fear as he raised a single eyebrow. "They are Hok'taur," he stated.

"I'm sorry," Kitty asked, looking around the room, hoping Logan hadn't blown this whole crazy mission. "What is a...what he said?"

Dr. Jackson cleared his throat, and the X-Men turned as one to him. "It is a word the Goa'uld use for advanced humans, those who display powers that imply they are, well, further evolved."

Logan snorted. "I could hate them already."

Major Samantha Carter was looking at the three X-Men still standing with frank astonishment. She started to reach out to touch Pete's steel skin, but stopped herself just in time. "Excuse me, I don't mean to be rude, but your skin..."

"It is a form of metal," Peter said, with the air of someone who had explained this far too often.

"But the difference in molecular structure, mass, density," she began. "To put it mildly, it's amazing." Sam looked between them again with the eye of a scientist who had just had a new technology demonstrated that she couldn't believe was real. "You all look so…"

"Human?" Logan growled.

Sam took an involuntary step back from his unrepressed anger, until the bulk that was Teal'c stopped her. "I was going to say ordinary," she said, defensively. "I have nothing against mutants."

"The Goa'uld would indeed be interested in such a population," Teal'c said. "Would they not be in danger of capture and implantation?"

"These four have abilities that would make it more difficult for a Goa'uld to take them over against their will," Hammond said, mildly.

"Indeed," Teal'c replied.

"So, what is he?" Kitty asked, stepping away from Logan as they all finally went to sit down, Teal'c staying standing by the door in near-silence.

"Oh, he's Jaffa," Daniel said. "He joined with us to fight the Goa'uld imprisonment of his people."

"You turned against your god?" Kurt asked, clearly impressed.

Teal'c inclined his head in acknowledgment. "False god."

"I believe this will be an enjoyable way to pass the time," Kurt said, glancing at his fellow X-Men to see if they agreed. "Is it not a cause worth aiding?"

Before the others could decide, a klaxon went off, followed by Walter's voice over the PA system, "Unscheduled off-world activation, all security teams report to the gate-room!"

"Looks like you'll have a chance to see for yourself," Jack said, and one of the whiteboards Daniel had been writing on earlier slid up to reveal a window overlooking the Stargate as the iris retracted to its closed position and the marines took their positions with guns at the ready.

The general and SG-1 stood up and began to head for the door, Daniel turning at the last moment to ask, "If you'll excuse us?"

Kitty looked at the others, and made a decision. "No way you're leaving us behind."


	4. Enter the Unknown

Part Four: Enter the Unknown 

General Hammond and SG-1 jogged the short distance downstairs to the control room overseeing the Stargate, and fanned out slightly, so that the X-Men could stand at the rear of the room.

"Any word on who's coming through?" Hammond asked a pale-haired tech.

"Not yet, sir," he replied, then paused as one of his displays lit up. "Receiving IDC now. It's SG-7."

"Open the iris," the general ordered. "Security to battle stations."

Men in camouflage quickly finished adopting stations in a semi-circle around the end of the ramp leading to the vertical pool of water being uncovered as the iris opened. A few strange blasts came through, glowing before exploding against the walls of the gate room.

"We're taking fire," the security commander radioed, unnecessarily.

"Medical team, standby for access to the gateroom," came a female voice over the system, efficiency projected by her tone.

"You'll be allowed in as soon as the gate is closed, Doctor," someone replied from the control room, and the X-Men exchanged glances.

"That's a wormhole?" Kitty asked, quietly.

"Actually, it's the event horizon. The actual wormhole is microscopic, but the Stargate magnifies the event horizon so that we can enter and be transported to the other end," Carter said, grinning. "As you're about to see..."

Carter broke off as a single figure backed through the gate, stumbling a few steps before falling backwards into a roughly seated position on the ramp, clearly disoriented. The rippling blue substance flared white and dissolved.

"Security teams stand down," the general ordered. "Dr. Evans, where's the rest of the team?"

Removing his pith helmet, the man on the gate scrubbed at his eyes in confusion. "I-I don't know," he said, and then his eyes rolled back as he collapsed into a heap.

"Is he hurt?" Pete asked, moving closer to lean into the window, worry painting his features.

"Janet's already on her way," Jack said, trying to smile. "She'll be poking him with needles in no time."

"Very funny, Jack," Daniel said, elbowing him in the ribs.

"Will it be a problem if I...?" Kurt began to ask, but before anyone could say otherwise, he bamfed down to the room beside the fallen soldier.

Kitty watched with horror as the security forces all began to take aim at the blue interloper, and grabbed for one of the microphones, hammering down the talk button. "Hold your fire, he's one of us!" she cried. "Damn it, Kurt, ask before you do that in a secret military base next time," she murmured to herself, releasing the button and mike, earning a chuckle from Logan.

"How do we get down to the room below?" Pete asked SG-1, seeing Kitty's worry.

Jack and Sam looked at Hammond, as if asking for permission, to which he nodded.

"It's this way," Sam said, starting for a set of stairs in the back of the control room.

By the time the four had gotten into the gate room, Kurt had already been shooed off by the medical team, who were transferring Dr. Evans onto a stretcher for movement into the medical wing. Kurt was watching with interest from a perch on one of the railings.

"Show-off," Kitty teased, leaning against the rail beside him.

"He does not show signs of injury, only exhaustion," Kurt replied. "His pulse was steady as I checked."

"Fine, but next time, make sure you're not going to be full of holes before you can get under cover, Nightcrawler," Kitty admonished, rolling her eyes. "I don't want to lose anyone on my watch, ok?"

Sam was watching both of them, an awestruck expression on her face as she gazed on the blue mutant. "That was...incredible. How is something like that even possible? The energy requirements for a wormhole are so large, but to be able to transport an individual at will," she babbled.

"It's not really that simple," Kitty said, shrugging. "And it's innate ability rather than conscious scientific applications. Would it help if we said that Kurt actually travels from here to a parallel dimension where our measurements have no proper correlation and then back again?"

Sam turned to look at Kitty with that. "Such dimensions have been theorized, but even so…"

"It is the truth, fraulein," Kurt said, politely. "What you see is merely an ability that God has seen fit to bestow upon this poor servant."

Sam opened her mouth as if to speak, then closed it again.

"You kinda get used to not asking about how someone's abilities work. It'd be like explaining why a wormhole only works one way to someone who doesn't understand algebra," Kitty said, with a slight grin that said she understood. "There are rules, but some just seem to fall through the cracks of current physics. Makes it easier to be scared of us, I suppose. The normal rules don't apply, or so it seems."

"Doesn't mean they don't try," Logan growled.

"That shouldn't be a problem here," a petite woman in a lab coat said as she walked over. "Dr. Evans should be fine in an hour or two. In the mean time, if you four don't mind, I'd like to get started clearing you for duty. I'm Dr. Fraiser," she continued, offering her hand to each of them in turn.

"You are aware that at least some of your tests will show results outside the human norm, right?" Kitty asked, shaking hands firmly.

"I wouldn't have it any other way. This is more to establish a baseline in case of any future problems."

"Great, more doctors," Logan said, under his breath, to which Kitty shot him a disapproving glare. "I'll be fine, kid," he added, with a toothy grin that made him look even more dangerous than usual.

"You wouldn't tell me if you weren't," she replied, which was answered with an approving snort.


	5. Misgivings

Doctor Janet Fraiser was pacing back and forth in the general's office as she tried to explain the situation she now found herself in. 

"Sir, I understand the value this group will bring to the SGC, but the diversity in results from the norm is staggering, and I don't have a clue where to start with understanding them," she said.

"Doctor, please, calm down," Hammond said. "It can't be quite that bad."

"I can't even discuss the difficulties without violating patient confidences because of their unique natures. Hell, I'm not even sure if they can truly be classified as human, or at least, as Homo sapiens."

"You told them what you were doing?"

"Well, yes," Janet said. "I can't possibly get the information we need to know about them. How in the world can I tell you the health of a partial amnesiac when I can't even get proper skull films?"

"Major," Hammond said, reminding her of her rank. "Do as much as you can now, and we'll discuss more specialized testing when they return. They are all clear for gate travel, right?"

Janet looked at him, frowning. "Sir, I don't like it…" she began.

"Are they healthy?"

"The woman is more fit than two thirds of the marines on base, and she's the low end," she said, wearily.

"I'll take that as a yes. You've got another hour to take any samples or run tests you haven't already, after which I want you to turn them over to SG-1 for field prep. I'm sending them with SG-1 and Dr. Evans to find SG-7."

"Are you sure that's wise, sir?"

"I can't send SG-1 alone, and SGs 3 and 6 are both off-world on missions, and the other teams aren't cleared at this time. They're they only support team available."

"And this is the toy-box," Jack said, as be brought the four X-men, clearly uncomfortable in standard issue BDUs in their sizes, into the armory. "You are all required to carry a sidearm at all times off-world, either a zat or 9 mil, depending on your preference. Most of my team carry both, since there are times when it's better to take hostages instead of using lethal force."

While Jack was explaining the alien stun weapon, Logan walked over, and had taken down a rather odd, compact machine gun, and pulled the clip to see how it went together.

"Hey, be careful with that!" Jack said, finally noticing.

"Give me one of these and a pea-shooter, colonel. Might be useful," Logan said, still looking at the P90.

"Take the zat," Kitty replied, firmly. "We're not going out to kill anyone, yet." Nobody missed the tiredness in her voice saying that killing might become necessary.

Kurt was holding the cobra-like weapon gingerly, checking to make sure his oddly-shaped hands still could activate the trigger, and then passed it over his shoulder to his tail for the same check. "I do not like this," he said.

Jack looked at Kurt, interested. "You think you can shoot like that?" he said, nodding at the tail.

"It is not impossible," Kurt replied, a little sadly. "I am certainly capable of using other weapons while my hands are busy."

"Cool."

They finished selecting the zats and other items from the armory, and Jack started to lead them back down to the briefing room, when Carter caught up with them, carrying an armload of electronic devices that looked like some form of radio transmitter.

"I didn't have time to reprogram these for a new code, so for now these are all set for SG-1's," Sam said, apologetically, as she handed one to each of them.

"What is this?" Pete asked, as he followed the others examples and strapped the device to his left forearm.

"We call them GDOs," Carter began, but was interrupted by Jack.

"Short for garage door opener," the colonel said, wryly. "You activate it before entering the gate at the other end, and it tells the folks back home to open the iris. Otherwise, you'll end up like bugs on a windshield."

Kitty glanced at the device again, then at Carter. "How does that metal thing prevent someone from coming through?"

Sam brightened at being asked a question in her field of expertise. "It's placed about a millimeter from the event horizon, so close that matter sent through the wormhole doesn't even have a chance to reintegrate before being crushed. Death would be instantaneous."

A grin crossed Kitty's face as thought about how that might work with her particular brand of mutant power. It certainly would be interesting to find out.

"Dr. Evans just got checked out to go back, so we should do a quick overview of what happened and then we're good to go," Carter told her commanding officer.

"Daniel?" Jack asked, the one word holding overtones of amusement and concern.

"He's making sure he has extra batteries and tapes for the camera, since we probably won't be able to study the ruins again," Carter replied, grinning.

"Him and his rocks."

"Yes, sir," Carter said.

"Well, campers, let's move out."

The briefing mostly covered the lay of the land, with some details offered by Dr. Evans. Evans was clearly in shock over the whole matter. He seemed to think the entire team had disappeared from around him as they ran for the gate.

Rubbing his hands together in excitement, Jack stood up from the end of the table. "So here's the plan. We'll go through the gate as a group, then head towards base camp at the ruins here," he began, pointing to a spot on the map. "From there, we'll do a quick sweep of the area, and see if we need to split up. Understood?"

The X-Men looked at the topographical map of the area, surrounded by photos of the actual points of interest, and exchanged a look. "Kurt, you should probably get up above as soon as we reach that tree line," Kitty said, indicating an area just beyond the Stargate. "Close enough to cover us if we need it, but high enough to keep a lookout."

Kurt smiled at that, glad to be out of the direct line of fire.

Jack bristled a little at the way Kitty had begun commanding the group, especially since she was easily the youngest of the group. She wouldn't have been his first choice. But then he stopped, watching as they discussed the lay of the land with an ease of familiarity. They deferred to her, for some reason he hadn't yet seen. The files he'd read had shown the four selections as loose canons, each one capable of turning and going it alone if they felt strongly enough. But they were battle-hardened. Even the kids.

And now Jack was supposed to lead them into an unknown battlefield millions of miles from home to bring back some of his men.


	6. Blast From the Past

Part Six: Blast From the Past 

"It doesn't look that different," Kitty commented as the two teams stood surveying the clearing around the Stargate.

"Convergent evolution," Carter supplied. "Most planets capable of supporting our kind of life look pretty similar."

"We don't have time to see the sights, let's move," Jack ordered, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Evans and the rest were following. "Where's Logan?"

Carter and Teal'c looked around, startled by the sudden disappearance of one of their group. The three remaining X-Men were calm, however.

"Relax," Kitty said. "He's probably out scouting. If he runs into anything he can't handle, Logan'll just lead it back to us."

"He is quite skilled," Teal'c commented. "I did not notice his leaving."

"Ya think?" Jack replied, sarcastically, to which Teal'c merely raised an eyebrow.

When they reached the tree-line, Kurt waved and grinned. "Und this is where I leave you," he said, before leaping for a low branch some twenty feet above their heads and scrambling easily into the canopy.

"Cheater," Kitty said, under her breath.

SG-1 exchanged glances, and then they continued along the path Evans had indicated his team had taken.

"Does Logan disappear like that frequently?" Daniel asked, curiously.

Kitty shrugged. "He's not much of a team player, really. Too many years as a soldier or alone or something."

"He's military?"

Kitty shot him a look that would melt a stone. "Not anymore."

Jack dropped back from where he had been taking point with Teal'c to where Daniel and Kitty were talking. Peter was walking nearby, but he was more like a moving statue than a human being, with how quiet he had been.

"Whatcha talkin' 'bout, kids?" Jack asked, grinning.

"I was just curious about…" Daniel began, but Kitty broke him off, saying a single word. "Logan."

"Ah, right," Daniel said, nodding. "How did you two meet, anyways?"

Jack gave Daniel a look. "Classified."

"C'mon, Jack, it can't be that important," his friend wheedled.

"Why don't you ask him?"

"I did. He says he doesn't remember."

"He probably doesn't," Kitty said, shrugging. "Logan doesn't really care to think about his past, let alone talk about it."

Jack left them to walk in silence, and a couple hours later called a halt for food and a little rest. The site looked like it had been used recently, and Evans confirmed that SG-7 had stopped there as well.

"Since you kids won't leave me alone, I'll tell ya," Jack said, checking that everyone was there. Anyone who knew him would see he didn't want to be talking about this subject, but he didn't see a way around it, either.

"He never gave me his name, the last time," Jack said, looking down into the MRE he was eating. "I'd lost my wingman coming back from a fly-over during Desert Storm. We had a low ceiling due to the oil fires, but everything was going fine until I lost the Warthog's other wing. Your buddy Logan there pulled me out and carried me to help, and damn near killed us both doing it."

The last sentence was said to Kitty, and when she met Jack's hollow gaze, she wondered how much more there was to the story. She knew she'd never get to hear it.

Flashback: 1991, Kuwait

A single A-10 flew over the man's head, a plume of smoke blending with the dark columns of the oil fires he was fighting. It didn't take much to know that man was going down fast, but there wasn't anything he could do. He was here for the fires, not the soldiers. But he couldn't turn his back on a human in need.

"Mayday, mayday, I'm going down," Jack shouted into his radio. He was too low already to punch the ejection button, because the parachute couldn't fully deploy before he'd be splattered on the desert rocks below him. His only chance was to ride his plane down, and hope he'd be able to crawl free from the crash. He looked down to see the picture he taped to the instrument panel of his wife and son, and closed his eyes for a moment. "I'm coming home, Charlie," he told the picture. "I promised."

The man ran towards the downed airplane with little regard for his surroundings. Leaping over rocks, and dodging around scrub, he approached the crash, hoping that the pilot was still alive. The scents of blood and burning oil filled his nostrils as he approached what was left of the cockpit, and movement caught his eye.

All Jack could think about was pain. He had to be alive, because there was no way being dead could hurt so much. The only question was how much longer would he be alive. He tried to move, to remove the harness strapping him firmly into his seat, but his hands weren't cooperating. Then he saw a shadow cross over his line of vision, and he heard the sound of rending metal before blackness consumed the world.


	7. Definitely Not Kansas

Logan shifted uneasily as the group listened to Jack speak, but said little. His nostrils flared as he scented something burning, and like a flash he felt more than saw the memory, of cutting a man free of a downed plane and barely making it clear before the tanks exploded.

Wolverine spun towards the sound of movement, his claws sliding out in readiness as he dropped into a defensive stance. "Elf," he growled, recognizing his "attacker."

Kurt dropped down from the branch he had been crouched on, concern crossing his features at Wolverine's unease. "It is the memories, ja?" he asked.

A snort of derision was Logan's answer, and he started to walk away from the camp. After about twenty steps, he noticed Kurt was still watching him, his golden eyes unblinking.

"You coming?" Logan called over his shoulder.

"If that is what you wish," Kurt answered, and jogged a few steps to catch up.

Logan rubbed at the back of his neck, thoughtfully. "I might remember something," he offered.

"It is that you allow this to bother you. Perhaps you remember. Perhaps no," Kurt said, reflectively. "We do not remember every moment."

"Most people remember saving someone's life."

"True," Kurt replied, and started to continue speaking, stopping at Logan raising a fist and scanning the trees around them, scenting the air. "What is it?"

"Get down!" Logan hissed, dropping to one knee as a staff-blast shot over his head, perfectly aimed for a chest shot. The familiar bamf of Kurt's teleportation and the accompanying cloud of brimstone and sulfur meant his teammate had already gone for help as he let off a three-round burst from his P-90 in the direction of his ambushers. Hopefully the others wouldn't arrive before he'd had his fun.

When Kurt suddenly appeared in the middle of camp as sounds of gunfire filled the air, he found himself facing the guns of SG-1. "Please, don't shoot," he said, holding his hands up.

As the guns were pointed away from the center of camp, SG-1 took positions facing outwards, preparing for an attack.

"Where's Logan?" Kitty asked, as she scanned the tree-line.

A crackle came over the radios, and then Logan's voice, saying, "Don't worry about me, I'm bringing the party to you."

The remaining X-Men exchanged a look, before laughing. Struggling to hold in hysterics, Kitty hit the talk button on her radio. "Roger that, Wolverine. Just remember you aren't alone on this."

Shadowcat looked between the two groups. "I'm going after him," she said.

"For crying out loud," O'Neill grumbled. "There's who knows how many Jaffa out there shooting at your friend, and you want to just run out after him?"

"Yes," she said, and, adjusting her equipment, did exactly that, phasing through trees in the attempt to cut down distance.

Carter watched the young woman go, with a look of amazement. Finally, she shook herself back to alertness. "I don't think she has anything to worry about, if she can pass through solid objects."

"Da," Pete said, amusement in his voice as he steeled himself for the coming battle.

It didn't take long for the Jaffa patrol to find them, although it was a much smaller group than had originally ambushed Wolverine and Nightcrawler. Like his namesake, the smaller man had led his pursuers in a merry chase, using his agility to turn on them at unpredictable intervals. There were perhaps a half dozen Jaffa warriors remaining, but from Logan's state, he had clearly made the right choice in returning to the group.

Wolverine had run out of ammo quickly, and was forced to use his claws against his attackers. Shadowcat was helping by distracting the enemy with an opponent they could not fight, but the limits of her mutation also made it impossible for her to fight them, as well.

But that was when things started going wrong. Wolverine's adamantium claws sliced through a staff weapon but missed the warrior behind it, That warrior drew a zat, quickly firing several shots wildly.

Two of the short blue bursts of lightning hit Wolverine squarely, and he stumbled a few steps, shaking his head with disorientation, and another Jaffa took the moment to follow the zat blasts with one from his staff. There was a quick exchange of glances between the armored figures in puzzlement at a human that didn't die from being zatted twice, but they had other worries.

"Fall back!" O'Neill ordered, as he took cover behind yet another tree.

Colossus ignored the order as several rounds of fire from both zats and staff weapons struck him, without leaving a mark, the stunning rounds from the zat playing across his metal form like blue sparks before grounding and dissipating harmlessly.

"Leave him, Colossus!" Carter called, feeling foolish using the codenames each of the X-Men seemed to prefer. "If the zat blasts didn't kill him, the staff blast to the chest finished it. Nobody can survive that!"

Colossus turned his head to look at the blonde woman with what seemed to be a wry smile. Expressions were hard to read on those metallic features. "Then perhaps it is that I am nobody," he said, scooping up the limp form of his downed comrade. "Nightcrawler, do you think you might do something about the others? I find that my hands are full at the moment."

"Should I be worried that they're making jokes at a time like this?" Daniel said from his position beside Jack as he squeezed off a few more rounds from his zat.

"Why? We do it all the time," Jack replied, giving cover fire with his P-90.

"That's why."

When the group finally had reassembled, except for Nightcrawler, who stayed above in the trees, they started back in the direction they came, until Sam's voice came over the radio.

"Sir, we have a problem. It seems our friends were just a decoy while they shielded the area," she said.

"In English, Carter," Jack replied.

"We're cut off from the gate, sir. There's an energy barrier."

"Now isn't that just wonderful?" Jack groaned.


End file.
